7/23/2011
The Southern Poverty Law Center, along with a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court in Huntsville asking the judge to block the new illegal immigration law in Alabama.
Mary Bauer, an attorney for the law center, said, “Alabama’s law goes much further than other state’s, criminalizing ordinary conduct by its citizens.”
She also said, “By making it a crime to give an illegal immigrant a ride and harbor or give aid to someone in need, the law makes acts of fundamental charity to neighbors a crime. This law places Alabama on the wrong side of history.”
The case, which was filed on behalf of twelve civil rights groups and 14 named individuals, as well as other unnamed people, has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Blackburn of the northern district of Alabama.
The lawsuit filed claimed that people who are legally and illegally in the country can potentially be subjected to racial profiling. It also claimed that school-age children who have a legal right to attend public schools will not attend.
Furthermore, the suit alleges that humanitarian and religious groups will be restricted from giving aid to people in need, which is a part of their functions.
The law was based on the legislation filed by Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur. The revised bill was signed into law last month.
Hammon stated that it comes as no surprise that “liberal groups seeking to shield people who are here illegally would seek to block implementation of our tough new law. It is important to note that our law protects legal immigrants as well as U.S. citizens.”
